Sleepover with Colby and Ben!

I had not planned to post again so soon; however, it is easier to post more often, and we had a great sleepover with Colby and Ben last night with pictures I want to share.  I took the boys to the playground and on a hike around the campground (and Grampa did the same this morning).

Ben loved the slide!

Ben and Colby at playground!

Colby had fun swinging!  

Colby and Ben hiking with Grammy!

  

We then had dinner, shower (Colby) and bath (Ben), read a story and settled down for the night.  Our couch in the RV is perfect for the 2 boys at 5 and 3!  Colby slept until 7:35 a.m. and Ben slept until just after 8:00 a.m.  Pretty awesome!

After breakfast and their morning hike with Grampa, Mike and April picked them up and took them to their campground for a morning of fishing.  Then, April and I will go shopping in downtown Estes Park while the guys hang out.

More later and thanks for stopping by!  ~judy~

The kids are here!

As Dick mentioned, the weather on Saturday was really "yucky" with rain off and on all day - which was much needed but not great for outdoor plans.  Mike and April and the boys arrived from Texas around 12 noon and checked into their campground.  We saw them briefly and left them to settle in.  Then, they brought Colby and Ben to us, so that they could get showers and rest - after driving straight through.  We had a great afternoon with the boys, who played with their Legos and only got "antsy" a few times.  We fixed a chicken stew dinner (a favorite) for Mike and April, which was enjoyed by all.

After a morning drive yesterday (when the weather was much better with a few small showers but mostly sunshine), Mike called to invite us to join them for lunch.  We met at the Big Horn Restaurant in Estes Park, which was not quite what we expected, but the company was great.

Ben, Grampa (Dick), Colby, Mike and April

As Dick mentioned, we took a drive ourselves and I am posting a couple pictures I took, which are similar to what Dick posted, but I wanted to share them, as well.

Elk on road to East Portal Campground

Blue Bird in Moraine Park

Deer in Moraine Park

After "rest time", we went to Mike and April's campground for a taco dinner and more visiting.  They have a view of the Big Thompson River and you can hear the water, which is very peaceful.

Colby playing Legos on his bed in camper

Ben watching a movie on his bed in camper

Dick, April and Mike "vegging" after dinner -
Big Thompson River behind the trees in background!

Dick and Mike have gone fly fishing this afternoon, while April stays with the boys for their "rest time".  I am not used to being by myself and look forward to seeing everyone this evening - and, hopefully, having a sleepover with Colby and Ben (we'll see if they last the night, but we are only 5 minutes from their Mom and Dad).

Will add more later!  ~judy~

A Short Outing With Camera in Hand

Yesterday was good.  After a solid day of really “yucky” weather, we got out with the express purpose of getting some decent pics of the area.  I wasn’t too concerned with exploring the whole park, but I had in mind to get out and take some pics of the Moraine Meadow area.  Moraine Park has always been my “special place”. We may find a more special area in the future, but for the past 40 odd years, this has been it.

The day started with the two of us sleeping until after 9:00 A.M. and having a leisurely breakfast.  Judy, with her usual raisin toast and bacon sandwich, and me with my sourdough English muffin, egg and bacon sandwich.  As luck would have it, Mike and April called and invited us to join them for lunch over at the Big Horn Restaurant in town.

After lunch, we split. They, to take the kids back to their camp to have an afternoon of “play-time” and ourselves, to visit some friends who are Camp Hosts at East Portal.

Dave and Larry, Camp Hosts.  It was Dave and Janice's turn as "Camp Hosts" - the "Smiling Faces" of Larimer County Parks.

I must admit that, if I had known how rustic and beautiful it was over at East Portal, we would probably have put in a serious bid for that location, with its abundance of wildlife (deer, elk, bear, turkey and hummingbirds, just to mention some) and heavily forested mountainsides.

Good sized bulls like this one are plentiful throughout the area, but especially at East Portal adjoining RMNP.

After saying our goodbyes, we headed over to the national park first to take a second set of pictures of a scene I had photographed back in 2002.  I took the first picture on our last day of vacation after an enjoyable stay at the River Spruce Cottages in Estes Park coinciding with a beautiful snowfall.  The original pics were taken in the last week of May 2002.  This second set was taken on May 20, 2012, this time sans snow.

2012

2002

Our last tour was through the Moraine Park Campground, only to find our favorite loop (Loop “A”) closed due to not having enough personnel to take care of it. So we took the turn off to scout out the road that paralleled the meadow between the moraines.  About this time was when I told Judy that when I passed, she could sprinkle my ashes into the small streams that were to rapidly grow together into the Big Thompson.

The Early Indians and trappers thought this was a piece of Heaven.  So do I!

When I went out to take the above shot, I had the good fortune to spot a beautiful Mountain Bluebird.

The Mountain Blue Bird

The whole time we were looking over the area, I kept seeing beautiful small flowers tucked away in easily overlooked corners.

    

  

 

By this time, the weather was starting to break down once more, so it was back to The Liberty Belle and Mary’s Lake Campground.

Until next Time!

~dick~